COMING OUT ON TOP

If you're still on a roofer's list waiting to go from blue to new, doing a little homework -- and perhaps a few upgrades -- now can pay off big next storm season. After all, notes LSU's Claudette Reichel, "I can't help but think people who've been through this once, if they can afford to upgrade, they certainly would. If they're going to be around through more hurricane seasons, they would like not to have to go through it again."

But how do you know you're getting what you asked for? "The best protection," Reichel says, "is to be an informed consumer and to select a contractor who doesn't seem threatened by that." Jeffery Ibos, third-generation owner of Ibos Roofing Co. Inc. in Covington, says he's seeing that among his clients. "Everyone's done their homework," he says. "They've been Googling, and that's good. I can't imagine spending $10,000 and not knowing what I'm getting." Communication with the roofer isn't a one-time thing, Ibos and Reichel agree. Ibos explains how his crews work: "Every crew has a foreman, and I introduce the foreman to the homeowner. He's always on the job. The estimator that dealt with the homeowner will stop in at least once or twice a day" to check on things. Ibos will listen to building-specific requests. "Telling what you want is fine, as long as it's not more than six nails per shingle. Some ask for that," he says. Six nails is the maximum he's seen manufacturers recommend. (That's what Reichel recommends as well.) If you ask for a 20-year tab roof, though, he'll flat turn you down. "I won't put it on anybody's roof," he says. "I'll lose a job before I use it. It has no fungus resistance. They only last about eight years. I stopped using them four or five years ago." His minimum recommendation is a 25-year tab shingle, but most of his customers are upgrading: "About 70 percent are going with a 30-year dimensional shingle. Twenty-five percent are using a 25-year three-tab. About 10 percent are going to a 40- to 50-year dimensional, but that's mostly businesses." The dimensional, or architectural, shingles are asphalt-based but have a 3-D look. "It's two shingles laminated together," he says. Because they're heavier, they have higher wind resistance. Plus, manufacturers have specific installation requirements, including the number of nails per shingle. "Every roof you do now, depending on the pitch, should get between four and six nails. They will help with wind uplift if we get hit again," he says.

The price of materials, which Ibos says skyrocketed post-Katrina, seems to have stabilized -- at least for now. "For the last two months they've been dead level," he says, although "I'm hearing there's another small increase on the way." The number of roofs he's installing has stabilized as well. "We were doing 10 roofs a week for four months, and it was just crazy. I hired two extra crews -- there are three now. We normally did two to three houses a week."

Tips from roof contractor Jeffery Ibos -- Ask to see a roofer's insurance papers, then call the insurance company to confirm coverage. "Ask if they really have it or if the papers have been doctored. We're seeing that now." -- Hire locals. "All these guys from Florida and Texas, they're going to be gone in a couple more months. Who are you going to call when you have a roof leak?" -- Discuss deposits. "I get 25 percent down to hold the job from people I don't know." That might be on the low side, but "I'm hearing two-thirds down, and that's a joke."

For more tips on hiring a roofer, go to www.nrca.net.

Tips from LSU's Claudette Reichel: -- Specify what kind of roof material you want: Ask for a product with a UL-rating of at least G for wind resistance, meaning it will hold up to 120-mph winds. -- Look for the manufacturer's installation guidelines, including the number of nails per shingle; discuss them with the roofer. -- Ridge vents come in designs especially for use in hurricane areas. Ask for them. -- Specify your choice of underlayment: 15-pound felt is the standard, but Reichel recommends 30-pound felt as the minimum. -- Write these specifications into your contract. -- Be there when the work begins to make sure the correct materials are being used. -- Ask how the "starter strip" will be installed. FEMA assessment teams found that a common reason for roof failure after Katrina was incorrect application of this first shingle strip along the roof edge. If workers simply flip a regular shingle and cut off the tabs, there may be no adhesive left to stick to the next row of shingles. Thus, a strong wind could peel off the whole roof. 'The manufacturer will either have special starter strips, or they will say take a standard tab shingle and trim off the tab and use the solid adhesive part as starter strip. Whatever the manufacturer (of your specific shingle) says to do, do it that way," Reichel says.

-- Continue communicating with the roofer about expectations that your instructions be followed.